Arizona Schools Won't Grade Students With Letters This Year Due To COVID

A bill was signed on Monday that will suspend the use of letters to grade children's work in schools across Arizona, reported CNN.

This comes as the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the school year, making children fall behind.

Governor Doug Ducey stated in an executive order, "Today I signed House Bill 2402, which ensures that students continue to be evaluated, so the State can ensure continued accountability in our education system, while also recognizing this year is unique and therefore provides some flexibility around the state's A-F letter grade system for school."

The students will still be taking the statewide assessment, the AZMerit2, in April. The tests were canceled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic forcing schools around the world to close.

The executive order reads, "The Arizona State Board of Education shall utilize AZM2 (AZMerit) assessment data, and other assessment or academic data, for this school year to draw comparisons to prior years and identify the extent of learning loss that has occurred."

Governor Ducey says that schools need to focus more right now on getting kids caught up and back on track.

He said, "This will ensure we continue to have accountability in our education system, so parents can make the best educational choice for their kids."

Photo: Getty Images